• Bryce Canyon Amphitheater

    Bryce Canyon

    National Park Utah

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Mountain Death-camas

Common Name(s): Mountain Death-camas, Elegant Death-camas
Scientific Name: Zigadenus elegans
Size (height) English & Metric: 6-28" (15-70cm)
Habitat: Prefers moisture and high elevations, or moist hanging gardens at low elevations
Flowering Season (for Bryce region): June - August
Range: Alaska to New Mexico and east onto the Great Plains
 
Mountain Deathcamas, with insert showing flower in detail

Mountain Death-camas

nps

General Description:
This plant is poisonous, although a very attractive member of the lily family. The flowers are small, consisting of 6 white to creamy petal-like segments arranged in a star shape. The flowers are also noted for having two very small green dots at each "petal's" base. Very long and narrow grayish to green leaves grow almost entirely from the lower part of the plant and may have purple edges at the base. The main stems vary in color from grayish purple to grayish green.

Plant Lore:
Hungry early settlers sometimes mistakenly thought the bulbs of this species were those of wild onions or Sego Lilies and would then eat them with deadly results. This plant is also deadly to cattle and especially sheep.
 
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When and where to see at Bryce:
This lethal plant can be seen in the spring along the Mossy Cave Trail just past the waterfall. Look up on the banks of Tropic Ditch.

Further Reading:
Buchanan, Hayle 1992. Wildflowers of Southwestern Utah. Bryce Canyon Natural History Association. Bryce Canyon, Utah.

Spellenberg, Richard. 2001. National Audubon Society's Field Guide to North American Wildflowers - Western Region. Knopf Inc. NY, NY.

Did You Know?

small herd of Pronghorn Antelope

Pronghorn, once roaming the plains of North America in numbers second only to Bison, can be found at Bryce Canyon National Park. They are the fastest land mammal on the continent and only the second fastest mammalian runner in the whole world, reaching speeds of up to 60 mph! More...